Government of Timor-Leste

After three days of lectures and thematic sessions, the 3^rd National Congress on Education ended with a Declaration. In his closing speech, the Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araújo, promised that “the Government, through the Ministry of Education, will strive to socialise the Final Declaration of the 3^rd National Congress on Education at the national level, by the end of its mandate. It will convey the importance of these recommendations to the Government.”

The Final Declaration presents 37 recommendations, divided into six key education areas: National Curriculum for Education; management and training of teachers; administration, school inspections, educational infrastructures and resources; public and private Higher Education management; and participation of the parents, the community, the private sector and other partners.

Rui Maria de Araújo highlighted “the work done by educational civil servants” and noted that “without it we would not have the ‘Diagnosis of 6 key education areas’”.

Some of the recommendations are to draft and approve a policy on the use of the Official Languages, to propose the revision of the Basic Law on Education, to create an ongoing teacher training management policy, to align initial teacher training with the National Curriculum of all levels of education, and to strengthen the link between schools and businesses.

The Declaration also highlights the “need to increase the annual allocation of public funds to the Education sector, in order to consistently and continuously achieve 15 to 20% of the State General Budget.” It also intends for a “change of mentalities so that the educational civil servants achieve new values, attitudes and behaviours “.

The Convention was held from May 15^th to 17^th and had as its central theme “Education as a pillar for the consolidation of the Nation’s Identity and Development”. Distinguished guests including the former President of the Republic and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, José Ramos-Horta, the former Prime Minister and current President of the Authority of the Special Administrative Region of Oe-cusse Ambeno, Mari Alkatiri, the Rector of the Fatumeta Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Father Domingos Alves, and the founder of the first university in Timor-Leste, Engineer Mário Viegas Carrascalão, attended the event.

To read the declaration, click here.